This account is pending registration confirmation. Please click on the link within the confirmation email previously sent you to complete registration.Need a new registration confirmation email? Click here

TORONTO,
Feb. 27, 2013 /CNW/ - For the past two days, Groupe Média TFO has hosted education professionals at a forum to discuss the new ways that today's technology platforms can be applied to teaching.

The starting point for
Forum TFO Éducation 2013 was the launch of the new TFO Éducation web site. This accessible, interactive, online platform is closely linked to the actual needs of today's teachers and inspired the forum's theme:
L'apprentissage au-delà des murs de l'école (
Learning Beyond School Walls).

As the forum wrapped up, its organizer,
Julie Caron, Manager of Educational Services at Groupe Média TFO, shared her impressions. "It was really stimulating for me to see so many leading educators passionately discussing their recent initiatives in this area. That is exactly what we wanted this forum to accomplish: to provide a vehicle for exchanging ideas and discovering what other people are up to".

The forum also explored the impact of music on learning. The participants attended presentations by two guest speakers whose work confirms the importance of music in this regard. One of these speakers was François Mario Labbé, the founder of Analekta and virtuoso violinist Angèle Dubeau's manager. As he stated, "Music is a way of knowing oneself. Because music is so portable and accessible, it opens up all kinds of opportunities and new horizons, and it can cover the whole range of human emotions."

The other guest speaker was Dr.
Jonathan Bolduc. He is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at the
University of Ottawa and director of its Mus-Alpha Laboratory, which looks specifically at how music education contributes to learning. Dr. Bolduc reported the results of various studies showing that 82% of children who participate in structured music programs finish high school, compared with only 68% of children who have not. Other studies confirm that children who participate in music-enrichment programs are two times less likely to be the victims of social exclusion.

In launching various music-related initiatives over the past year, TFO was well aware of the importance of this aspect of learning. From nursery rhymes to emerging-artist showcases to nights at the opera, TFO offers its audiences a rich selection of musical content on a variety of platforms tailored to their diverse interests. Through this approach, we at TFO seek to maximize the success of our educational and cultural mission. And that is music to our ears.